Panetta warns US troops in Afghanistan to 'watch behaviour' to ward off scandals

Washington, May 5 (ANI): US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has warned American soldiers to watch their behaviour following the spate of high-profile episodes of misconduct by some troops in Afghanistan which have discredited the entire armed forces .

Speaking to soldiers at Fort Benning, Georgia, Panetta urged troops to honour their military values, and warned that thoughtless photos and actions can endanger their mission and their lives.

"These days, it takes only seconds - seconds - for a picture, a photo, to suddenly become an international headline," The Telegraph quoted Panetta, as saying.

"And those headlines can impact the mission that we're engaged in, they can put your fellow service members at risk, they can hurt morale, they can damage our standing in the world, and they can cost lives," he added.

According to the paper, the message reflected a growing concern about the broader effects of the widely publicized episodes such as the mistaken burning of Koran, images of Marines urinating on Afghan insurgents' corpses and photos showing US soldiers posing with Afghan police holding the severed legs of a suicide bomber.

Panetta emphasized that only a very small percentage of the force is involved in the scandals and that no one is deliberately acting to sabotage their mission or put fellow soldiers at risk.

But he also pointed out that 'such actions could affect all those people who are serve their country'.

"These incidents concern me and they have to concern you ... because a few who lack judgment, lack professionalism, lack leadership can hurt all of us, and can hurt all of those men and women who serve this country with distinction," Panetta said. (ANI)